Four Buckeye Softball Players Garner All-American Accolades – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 21, 2002
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Four members of the Ohio State softball team earned Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-America honors, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) announced Tuesday from the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla. Anna Smith (Sr., Walnut, Calif./Diamond Bar), first team outfielder, Wendy Allen (So., Moreno Valley, Calif./Moreno Valley), second team utility player, Stacy Roth (Sr., Wauseon, Ohio/Wauseon), third team catcher, and Jennifer Link (Jr., Yorba Linda, Calif./Sonora) third team second base, garnered the national awards after the Buckeyes went 55-14 on the year and finished second in the Big Ten Conference and NCAA Region 6. This marks the first time in program history more than two Buckeyes have been selected All-Americans and doubles the number the program has earned.
“This is very exciting not only for the players, but for the Ohio State program,” Linda Kalafatis, OSU head coach, said. “Our team had a great year and these players, the first four hitters in our lineup, had a big hand in that. They were a big part of our success in the Big Ten and out of the conference. It takes every member of the team to win, but they truly were the biggest part of the success.”
Smith led the team and was second in the nation with her .507 batting average while connecting on 105 hits, the most in Buckeye and Big Ten annals and the ninth-most in NCAA single-season history. She set records for runs scored in a season with 68, runs in a career with 166 and season stolen bases at 40. Smith also tied the record for triples in a season with eight and moved into third all-time with 11 in her career.
Allen, the 2002 Big Ten Player of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten and All-Great Lakes Region selections, led the conference with a 1.00 ERA and ranks among the best in the nation. She struck out 143 batters while limiting them to 95 hits on 509 at bats for a .187 average. While batting, Allen was second on the team with a .393 average, 77 hits and 51 RBI. She also recorded 19 doubles, the second-most in a single season at OSU, and ran for 127 total bases while scoring 34 times. Roth led the team, and now the single-season and career records, for runs batted in with 66 in 2002 and bringing her career total to 166. Her near 1.00 RBI per game average also ranked among the tops in the nation while leading the Big Ten. Roth hit at a .370 clip with 70 hits including 15 home runs, one off the record pace of Kristine Himes (Jr., Bolivar, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley), and held the highest slugging percentage at .683.
Link has started every game at second for the Buckeyes since the day she arrived in Columbus and had her best offensive season. The leadoff hitter for OSU hit .349 and collected 75 hits while connecting on her first home run. Link’s 190 hits ranks sixth all-time and her 215 at bats was the most in a season in Buckeye history. She stole 30 bases to bring her career total to 56, the second most in OSU history behind Smith.
OSU has had four selection prior to this year. Shawna Bowman was the first with her third team selection in 1991. In 1993, Krinon Clark made the third team. Clark became the first two-time recipient of the accolade with her second team selection in 1994 and joined Jen Fredrickson, a second team selection in 1994 as well, as the first multiple selections in a year for the program.
The four Buckeye representatives will travel to Oklahoma City for the NFCA Awards Banquet where the honors will be handed out. An entire listing of the 2002 All-Americans will be released after the banquet.
Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I First Team All-Americans Name Position School Jennie Finch Pitcher Arizona Keira Goerl Pitcher UCLA Jamie Southern Pitcher Fresno State Stacey Nuveman Catcher UCLA Leneah Manuma First Base Arizona Brandi Stuart Second Base Florida State Lindsay Wood Third Base Northern Iowa Natasha Watley Shortstop UCLA Oli Keohohou Outfield Brigham Young Jessica Mendoza Outfield Stanford Anna Smith Outfield Ohio State Ashley Courtney Designated Player Alabama Gina Oaks Utility Cal State Fullerton Jaime Clark At-Large (Shortstop) Washington Amanda Freed At-Large (Utility) UCLA Britni Sneed At-Large (Pitcher) LSU Jenny Topping At-Large (Catcher) Cal State Fullerton Phelan Wright At-Large (Third Base) Arizona State
Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I Second Team All-Americans Name Position School Lindsay Chouinard Pitcher DePaul Nikki Myers Pitcher Florida Atlantic Cat Osterman Pitcher Texas Kristen Rivera Catcher Washington Jackie McClain First Base Alabama Liz Bouck Second Base DePaul Stefanie Volpe Third Base Michigan Cara Blumfield Shortstop Boston College Trena Peel Outfield LSU Nicole Barber Outfield Georgia Tiffany Tolleson Outfield North Carolina Geney Orris Designated Player UNLV Kristen Dennis Utility Virginia Wendy Allen At-Large (Utility) Ohio State Sarah Beeson At-Large (First Base) Stanford Jocelyn Forest At-Large (Pitcher) California Becky McMurtry At-Large (Third Base) Louisiana-Lafayette Kellie Wilkerson At-Large (Utility) Mississippi State
Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I Third Team All-Americans Name Position School Cindy Ball Pitcher Pacific Jennifer Hadley Pitcher Massachusetts Marissa Young Pitcher Michigan Stacy Roth Catcher Ohio State Kim Wendland First Base Georgia Jennifer Link Second Base Ohio State Andrea Loman Third Base Notre Dame Tara Knudsen Shortstop Georgia Tech Yasmin Mossadeghi Outfield Cal State Fullerton Christi Musser Outfield Kansas Kim Ogee Outfield Nebraska Claire Sua Designated Player UCLA Christina Enea Utility Oklahoma Selena Collins At-Large (Catcher) Texas A&M Candace Harper At-Large (Third Base) California Kristin Johnson At-Large (Shortstop) Iowa Edel Leyden At-Large (Outfield) Illinois-Chicago Jarrah Myers At-Large (Catcher) Notre Dame Nichole Thompson At-Large (Utility) Arizona State
